Libya vs Saudi Arabia: Military spending as a share of GDP
Libya
7.7%
in 2016
Saudi Arabia
6.7%
in 2019
Libya rank
4th
Saudi Arabia rank
5th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Libya
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Libya currently reports 7.7% against 6.7% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 1.0%.
That makes Libya's figure about 1.1 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1951 it was Saudi Arabia ahead.
Libya ranks 4th and Saudi Arabia ranks 5th of 172 countries.
Saudi Arabia has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Libya | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.3% | 4.7% | 3.4% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1960s | 1.1% | 3.1% | 2.0% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1970s | 2.6% | 6.9% | 4.2% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1980s | 6.8% | 13.9% | 7.2% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1990s | 3.6% | 8.2% | 4.6% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 5.6% | 4.5% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2010s | 5.4% | 5.8% | 0.4% | Saudi Arabia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Libya or Saudi Arabia?
- Libya, at 7.7% against 6.7% in Saudi Arabia as of 2016.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Libya and Saudi Arabia?
- 1.0%, with Libya ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Libya and Saudi Arabia?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1951 to 2016.
- How do Libya and Saudi Arabia rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Libya ranks 4th and Saudi Arabia ranks 5th of 172 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).